Pennsylvania will offer vaccinated state employees five days of paid leave

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf announced Monday that commonwealth employees who get fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by the end of the year will receive five days of paid leave.

More than 70,000 state employees would be eligible to receive the five days of paid leave, which can be taken anytime from Dec. 20 to March 31 of next year, The Associated Press reported. Employees who are already vaccinated and have verified their status to the administration will automatically receive the days of leave. Even if the leave period is not used by the end of March, the employee will still be paid for the five additional days. 

This comes as the latest action taken up by the state to incentivize vaccination. Previously, state employees were offered a paid day off to get the COVID-19 shot, the AP reported. 

According to Forbes, Pennsylvania is the first state in the country to provide additional paid time off for receiving a COVID-19 vaccine that is unrelated to having side effects. Other states, including Arkansas and Maryland, have offered $100 to all vaccinated state employees. 

“As one of the largest employers in Pennsylvania, we want to make sure our workers have the resources they need to be safe and healthy and be an example to other businesses to follow,” Secretary of Administration Michael Newsome said in a press release. 

Pennsylvania State Treasurer Stacy Garrity, a Republican, called the plan fiscally irresponsible and added that it could cost Pennsylvania taxpayers more than $100 million in a press release.

92.9 percent of Pennsylvania residents 18 and up have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, making it the sixth-most vaccinated state in the country, Gov. Wolf tweeted Wednesday. Earlier this fall, Penn announced that 99% of undergraduate students were fully vaccinated against COVID-19, along with 97% of faculty and staff.